


Alternate part for "some things never change"

by timeisdisintegrating



Category: Doctor Who, Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-02-02
Updated: 2016-02-02
Packaged: 2018-05-17 18:45:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 621
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5881540
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/timeisdisintegrating/pseuds/timeisdisintegrating
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Alternate part from my fic "some things never change" on how the child would learn her lesson about regeneration.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Alternate part for "some things never change"

**Author's Note:**

> Tiny spoilers for Husbands of River song if you haven't seen it!

He has lost her again. The child can slip away so easily – it’s obvious she has inherited her mother’s knack for stealth. He searches frantically throughout the house and out into the yard but she is nowhere in sight. River is going to kill him if she finds out he has lost track of their little girl _again_ while babysitting. Why does he have to be so bad at this?

He’s pulling out his hair by the time he finds her a few minutes into the forest near their temporary home on Darillium. She is crouching over something and he yells her name – reprimanding her for running off again and how she needs to come back immediately or River is going to finally make good on that promise to shoot him. The girl doesn’t answer and as he gets closer, he can see a golden light radiating from her hands. 

Once he realizes what it is – panic sets in. He screams her name and runs to her – hauling her slight body off the ground and into his arms. He releases one hand to pat her face, asking what happened and is she still hurting, when he finally focuses on the perturbed look on her young face. The light has faded from her hands and he looks down to where she had been crouching. A small bird lies on the ground and the girl pushes out of his arms, struggling to get back to the tiny animal.

He realizes what she had been doing and he can feel alarm mixed with anger setting into his bones. “What do you think you are doing?” he asks severely, and she elects to ignore him, which only serves to make him angrier. Her hands start to glow once more and he pulls her away again.

“Stop it, daddy!” the girl exclaims, struggling against his grip.

“You will not use your regeneration energy for a bird!” He makes her face him, holding her shoulders, “It is precious. You only have so much!” The girl shrugs and he gives her a glare. “We are going back. Now. You shouldn’t even be out here anyways.”

He starts to lead her out of the forest but she pulls away and runs back to the bird. He hears her mumble something. 

“You’ll have to repeat yourself, honey.”

The girl turns her face to him and he realizes she’s crying now. He stoops down to her and the bird.

“I was just trying to help,” she whispers, caressing the tiny form. It lets a small squeak out and seems to nuzzle her hand. “You said my energy, this golden stuff, can heal. It was hurting.” 

The Doctor’s face softens and he holds his little girl. “I know, I know, dear, but you cannot fix everything. You only have so much.”

She looks longing down at the bird and he sighs. He reaches one hand out over the bird and his hand starts to glow. He sends a tiny bit of energy into the bird until he can feel it has healed whatever it had broken. He pulled away his hand and the bird pushed itself back up onto its feet and chirped. 

“There, now, let’s go.” 

He takes the child’s hand and leads her back out of the forest. River is waiting, tapping her foot, when they approach the front porch. “I thought you all were playing indoors today?” she says, bemused. The Doctor sighs and opens the gate just as the tiny bird lands on his shoulder. He stops and lifts an eyebrow at the bird, but it continues to perch on him.

“Made a new friend, did we?” River asks. 

He gives a noncommittal shrug.

The little girl giggles.


End file.
